The Underground Railroad eBook

in a dry way. With my arms around my master’s
neck, I begged and prayed him to tell me why he
had sold me. The trader and constable was
again pretty near. I let go my master and took
to my heels to save me. I run about a mile
off and run into a mill dam up to my head in water.
I kept my head just above and hid the rest part
of my body for more than two hours. I had not
made up my mind to escape until I had got into
the water. I run only to have little more
time to breathe before going to Georgia or New
Orleans; but I pretty soon made up my mind in the water
to try and get to a free State, and go to Canada
and make the trial anyhow, but I didn’t
know which way to travel.”

Such great changes in Alfred’s prospects having
been wrought in so short a while, together with such
a fearful looking-for of a fate in the far South more
horrid than death, suddenly, as by a miracle, he turns
his face in the direction of the North. But the
North star, as it were, hid its face from him.
For a week he was trying to reach free soil, the rain
scarcely ceasing for an hour. The entire journey
was extremely discouraging, and many steps had to
be taken in vain, hungry and weary. But having
the faith of those spoken of in the Scriptures, who
wandered about in dens and caves of the earth, being
destitute, afflicted and tormented, he endured to
the end and arrived safely to the Committee.

[Illustration: ]

He left his father and mother, both slaves, living
near Middleburg, in Virginia, not far from where he
said his master lived, who went by the name of C.E.
Shinn, and followed farming. His master and mistress
were said to be members of the “South Baptist
Church,” and both had borne good characters
until within a year or so previous to Alfred’s
departure. Since then a very serious disagreement
had taken place between them, resulting in their separation,
a heavy lawsuit, and consequently large outlays.
It was this domestic trouble, in Alfred’s opinion,
that rendered his sale indispensable. Of the merits
of the grave charges made by his master against his
mistress, Alfred professed to have formed no opinion;
he knew, however, that his master blamed a school-master,
by the name of Conway, for the sad state of things
in his household. Time would fail to tell of
the abundant joy Alfred derived from the fact, that
his “heels” had saved him from a Southern
market. Equally difficult would it be to express
the interest felt by the Committee in this passenger
and his wonderful hair-breadth escape.

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ARRIVAL FROM BELLEAIR.

While this party was very respectable in regard to
numbers and enlisted much sympathy, still they had
no wounds or bruises to exhibit, or very hard reports
to make relative to their bondage. The treatment
that had been meted out to them was about as tolerant
as Slavery could well afford; and the physical condition
of the passengers bore evidence that they had been
used to something better than herring and corn cake
for a diet.